Rewriting family law
Or at least, putting an Islamic flavor to it...
Within the case, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice was also faced with the issue of whether the Court is willing to enforce a traditional marriage contract under Muslim law, known as maher. Basically, this entitles the wife to a sum of money [$20,000.00 in this case] that is given to her upon marital breakdown as agreed by contract. Contracts for maher are seen as being intrinsic to Muslim law as the money given to the woman is part of the husband’s moral obligation. It is important to note that the maher is an agreement paid to the spouse in addition to and without prejudice to the husband’s obligations under the Ontario Family Law Act. Both parties did not obtain independent legal advice and neither party provided financial disclosure. At the culmination of the martial ceremony, neither spouse retained a copy of the marriage contract. However, given that setting aside a marriage contract is a discretionary power of the Court, the Court in this case found that given the nature of the terms were simple and the husband understood his obligation, the Court upheld the marriage contract.
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